Jasper

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Jewelry 101--Colored Stones

Jasper

With its marvelous and unique patterns of color resulting in bands, rings, and spots it’s no wonder jasper is often referred to as a “picture” stone. Used for millennia, Egyptians carved jasper with symbols and inscriptions from the Book of the Dead into amulets that were buried with mummified remains for safe passage in the after-life. Today this variety of chalcedony (microcrystalline quartz) is considered a healing, nourishing, and protecting stone by those who believe in chakras and feng shui.

“Spotted” or “speckled stone” is the meaning of the name jasper and is derived via Old French jaspre (variant of Anglo-Norman jaspe) and Latin iaspidem from Greek iaspis.
Usually associated with brown, yellow, or reddish colors, jasper is an opaque variety of chalcedony (microcrystalline quartz). It also comes in other colors such as dark or mottled green, orange, and black.
Jasper is almost always multicolored with unique color patterns and habits.
Jasper was a significant stone in nearly all religious and cultural histories throughout the world.
Each jasper stone has a unique pattern of color and is most often mottled, spotted, ringed, or striped, though it can be a solid color.
Jasper is an ancient gemstone, mentioned in the bible and other classical sources. Today jasper is fairly common and affordable even though it was regarded as a valuable stone in ancient times.
Jasper is usually cut and polished into cabochons when used for jewelry. It is also used as beads for necklaces and bracelets and can also be carved into cameos and worn as pendants.
Organic material and mineral oxides give jasper interesting patterns, bands and colors that jasper often contains. Many well-known jaspers have “picture” as part of their name because many patterns of jasper resemble landscapes with mountains and valleys.
Known for its deep earthy tones of red, yellow, brown and green, sometimes in shades of blue or purple, jasper is colored by oxides of iron and other minerals and displays wonderful contrasts in its banding, inclusions, and small circular patterns.
Referenced in Greek, Hebrew, Assyrian, and Latin literature, jasper is a favorite gem in ancient times.
Jasper was used in many cultures to engrave cylinder seals, signet rings, and special talismans depicting astrological and religious images.
Jasper may be found all over the world, in nearly every color and occurs in nodules or as fillings in fissures.
Common and found worldwide important deposits of exist in India, Russia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Egypt, Madagascar, Australia, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and the United States (Oregon, Idaho, Washington, California, Arizona, Utah, Arkansas, and Texas).
Jasper is distinguished from other chalcedony varieties such as agate and carnelian by its opacity. The unique color patterns (combined with hardness) can also distinguish jasper from all other gemstones.

Specs

Chemical Formula	SiO₂	Mineral Class	Chalcedony (Microcrystalline Quartz)
Color	White, Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Gray, Black, Banded, Multicolored
Crystal System	Hexagonal	Hardness	6.5-7
Transparency	Opaque	Luster	Vitreous
Refractory Index	1.544 - 1.553	Double Refraction	0.009

Legends

Some legends say that jasper can drive away evil spirits and protect against snake and spider bites.

In the fourth century jasper was thought to bring about the rain.

Jasper was considered “the rain bringer” by Native Americans and was highly regarded as a stone for dowsing.

As “the rain bringer,” jasper has been revered as a divining stone of “tempestaries,” magical masters of the wind and rain, called upon in secret to save harvests in periods of drought, or to save ships from violent storms.

Worn by shamans, priests and kings in ancient times jasper was considered sacred and a powerful protection stone, for both the physical world and in the spiritual realm.

Egyptians carved amulets of jasper with symbols and inscriptions from the Book of the Dead and buried with mummified remains for safe passage in the after-life.

Jasper was the twelfth stone in the Breastplate of the Jewish High Priest, and the apostle Peter is supposed to have derived his name from jasper, the rock upon which Christ would build his church.

Red jasper is believed to be especially helpful in increasing the searcher’s sensitivity to the Earth.

Jasper is also been believed to assist in divining the future. Picture jasper is especially conducive for dream work and visioning, while black jasper is believed to be an excellent scrying stone.

It was believed dreaming of Jasper signifies love returned.

Throughout history jasper has been worn as an amulet against phantasms and witchcraft.

It was believed that jasper worn on the breast prevented epilepsy, stomach pain and colic, and stopped nosebleeds and other fluxes of the body. Jasper amulets also prevented fevers and swelling.

An amulet of jasper was believed to protect its wearer from drowning and was also believed to keep spiders and scorpions at bay.

For the American Indians, jasper was known as a powerful amulet of protection for their shamanic rituals and against unseen hazards of the night.

In many ancient civilizations, jasper was believed to be heavily charged with mysterious and sometimes contradictory properties. red jasper stimulated without being excessive; yellow jasper enhanced common sense but also the need for conformity; and green jasper of all one color harmonized gently, yet could change the opinion of even the most stubborn person.

Legends claim if one has worn jasper since childhood, he or she will be protected from drowning and ghosts.

Jasper was prized by the earliest physicians as the most powerful astringents, regulators of metabolism and colic, and strengtheners of the stomach and digestive organs.

The Roman physician, Galen, prominent in the first century A.D., always wore a ring set with jasper, carved in the figure of a man with a bundle of herbs signifying the power to distinguish diseases and stop the flow of blood from any part. He said that jasper, particularly the green variety, should be hung about the neck to strengthen the chest and stomach.

In a Mesopotamian creation legend, the god Marduk (Jupiter) formed three heavens or spheres above the Earth, with the lower one being created from jasper. On it he drew the constellations.

According to Viking and German legends, the hilt of the magical sword of Siegfried, the dragon-slayer, was inlaid with red jasper to give him courage.

Red jasper was called the blood of Mother Earth among some Native North American tribes, and in ancient Egypt was linked with the fertilizing blood of Mother Isis.

In Christian tradition, jasper represented the young vigor of faith and was dedicated to the apostle Peter as the hard and solid rock upon which Christ would build his church.

Jasper was also believed to be the material from which the city walls and first foundation of the New Jerusalem would be made. In the Apocalypse, St. John sees the Eternal appear on a throne of jasper, representing eternal youth, renewal, and revelation.

Chakra

Jasper is considered protective and can align all the chakras and balance yin yang energies and is stabilizing and healing.